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Youths lead efforts to repair skate/bike park

Several Kane area youths are leading efforts to again repair the wooden skate/bike ramps at Glenwood Park on Hacker Street.Volunteers led by former Kane borough councilman Bob O’Rourke built the facility in 2004.The borough allocated $31,818 in federal community development block grant (CDBG) money to buy the materials. The Kane Rotary Club donated $10,000 for the blacktop base for the skate/bike park.Despite repairs in the past, the popular recreational site for youths has continued to deteriorate.Rather than sink more money into the skate/bike park, the borough has closed the site due to the potentially hazardous condition of the ramps.The Kane Borough Council has claimed that the borough does not have funds to make further repairs at the site.Youths who have ridden skateboards and bicycles on the ramps now plan to take on the burden of fixing the facility.Repair work already is under way at the site.“We definitely want to handle it,” Joe “Puck” Wolfgang said in discussing the youth-led volunteer group that is repairing the skate/bike park. “It’s going to happen.”He said some of the ramps may be safe and suitable for riders after just a few days of work.Wolfgang, a 2006 graduate of Kane Area High School, is one of the coordinators of the repair project.The Kane Area Development Center (KADC) is supporting the volunteer efforts to repair the skate/bike park.“The borough is financially unable to provide the money necessary to repair the skate park so a group of young individuals—frequent uses of the park—have come together to ensure the park is not permanently closed by committing to raising money and then rebuilding the park,” the KADC said in a statement. “The materials will be purchased from local vendors, including Kane Lumber & Fuel and CW Hardware. The individuals and community volunteers are donating their time and tools to the project.”See full article by purchasing the Aug. 4 edition of The Kane Republican.